Unmanned vehicles such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used in in many applications, including crop surveillance, photography, inspection of buildings and other structures, fire and safety missions, border patrols, and product delivery, among others. Such unmanned vehicles may be equipped with sensors for detecting obstacles and other objects in the surrounding environment. LIDAR systems can be used to provide distance measurements for three-dimensional obstacle detection and environmental mapping. However, the measurement precision of existing LIDAR systems may not be sufficient for use in complex environments. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for implementing LIDAR systems carried by unmanned vehicles and other movable objects.